Is this the best Saints offense to ever be put on the field?

Tommy: Are you having a crisis of faith like me?

My metric for deciding how unpleasant a task may be is to compare it to moving mud (as we’ve all done to augment our sinking yards.) I don’t LIKE doing it, but if it’s better than the chore at hand that thing must be pretty bad. I spent an hour today talking to Archbishop Michael Aymond and a Jesuit priest from Marquette University about the scandal that’s rocked the Catholic Church to its core foundation. I wouldn’t have preferred to move mud, but I’m as tired as if I had.

I am a cradle Catholic. I took comfort in the church, in going to mass, in celebrating holidays for the religious, not secular meaning. I still, as a Catholic, have a strong devotion to the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Mother. That’s about all I can do for now. I can’t get past the feeling that the church, MY church, has been unfaithful to me much in the manner of a cheating spouse. I’m doubting everything they told me, wondering what was really going on while I was blissfully, ignorantly happy and trying to figure out how something so good could have gone so bad.

I hope the systems the Catholic Church have put in place to stop the abuse and prosecute deviant priests will be effective. Again, however, as with a cheating spouse, I’m hesitant to take their word for anything.

Among the things I can’t get past: How could ANYONE who believed in God abuse the most fragile among us? How could ANYONE who believed in God think protecting the reputation and image of the church took precedent over protecting innocent children? How could ANYONE who believed in God continue to put child abusing priests into environments rich with potential victims without giving ANYONE adequate warning?

Nothing happens in a vacuum. I still find it hard to believe that every country within which abuse was reported handled the claims identically without direction from the Vatican. It would be one, excuse the phrase, hell of a coincidence. I believe this WAS church policy and perhaps would STILL be had media attention not been given to the victims brave enough to come forward.

The Catholic Church often invokes the word “sin” when addressing the problem of pedophile priests. I think “crime” would be a better choice.

I consider Gregory Michael Aymond, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, a friend. We had a heart to heart conversation about my crisis of faith due to the crisis in the Catholic Church. It did give me some comfort. Perhaps it will give you some comfort too.